The Only One Who Seems to Care
by Rock Lees Lotus
Summary: When the only one who seems to care is away, Lee is left alone to his own devices, which ends up hurting him more than physically as he dwells in his thoughts. Probably better than that makes it sound, I suck at writing summaries... Short Rock Lee oneshot


Let's get this out right now, Rock Lee is the only character that can make me cry. Oh, and I apologize for any OOC-ness. This is sort of meant to reflect the emotions that Gai and especially Lee cover up with their flashy smiles and hyperactivity, trying to ignore the fact that **a lot** of unfortunate things have happened in their lives. I swear, those two are closet emos. Very a-la Fai D. Flowright, neh? Except much less vampirical... ALSO! All _italics_ are Lee's POV. I apologize if they get annoying! Well then... Now that we have all that out of the way, let's get moving, shall we?

This story takes place probably around the same slot as the filler does in the anime; after Lee's fight with Kimimaro, before Naruto leaves to train with Jiraiya for two-and-a-half years.

**The Only One Who Seems to Care**

**Summary: When the only one who seems to care is away, Lee is left alone to his own devices, which ends up hurting him more than physically as he dwells in his thoughts. Probably better than that makes it sound, I suck at writing summaries... Short Rock Lee oneshot! No, this is not X, although I guess you COULD see it if you're THAT committed to GaiLee and you starred REALLY, REALLY hard. My first real Lee(or Naruto, for that matter) fic!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. If I did, Sasuke would have shut up and died already! Or at least not be the only one who's still a total JERK after the two-and-a-half-year jump! NEJI AND GAARA ARE BEING NICE, WHY NOT THE UCHIHA PUNK?!?!?!... I'm okay now... :)**

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_There's a sharp pain every time I breathe. I can't move- my entire body feels so numb. All I can see is the grass that I'm lying face down on, but I know I'm probably bloody all over. Looks like I've done it again, I've pushed too hard. I should probably feel scared, I know that I'm the only out here, that I'm all alone and there's no one to find me, but for some reason I'm not. The more often he's away, the more often this seems to happen._

_I know Gai-sensei can't help it. He's a ninja of Konoha, it's his **job** to carry out missions. It's not him that I blame, I can't, after all, but more... I guess I blame myself. It's my fault that I'm alone, and no one else's. It's not like I don't have any friends. Naruto-kun, Sakura-san, Neji, Tenten- I'd like to consider them all friends of mine. But whenever I ask them to train with me, they all refuse. Sakura-san always says she's busy (all of her time training is spent with Tsunade-sama or worrying about Sasuke-kun), I think Naruto-kun is still scared from the last time we trained together (which had also been the first time we'd ever trained together... I hadn't **meant** to hurt him...), Tenten says her style of training differs far too much from my own, and although I do train with Neji from time to time, all I usually do with him is fight, which he complains gets too boring because I'm not a strong enough opponent. It sort of hurts to hear it, but I know that- at least for now- it's true. That's one of the reasons why I train so much in the first place, so that I can one day beat Neji. I guess that's why I train with Gai-sensei. He actually seems to enjoy training with me, and it's nice to see him proud of me when I've kept up with him the entire day. I spend more time with him than with anyone else. I watch his matches with Kakashi-sensei, we go on our share of dual-man missions, as well as our missions as the full Team Gai, he visits me whenever I'm in the hospital,... he's like a father to me._

**//FLASHBACK//**

"Lee, let me see your hand," Gai said to his pupil, looking up to the sky with a knowing smile. "I can tell that you're trying to hide it from me."

Lee looked down sheepishly at his knees. That night had been one of the many that Gai and Lee had decided to get to together and train for as long as possible. They had been training for hours when Gai called for them to take a break and, after a short moment of protest from the younger of the two, they had sat at the base of a nearby tree. Reluctantly, Lee raised his right hand to show his sensei, who took it in is own hands. After gently unwrapping the bandages which Lee kept on at all times, Maito Gai let out a sigh. Lee's face reddened as he continued to stare at his knees; his hand was swollen, very swollen. Gai began manipulating Lee's fingers one-by-one, rotating them as he said nothing; Lee knew the drill as this had happened many times before. Lee fought back any sings of pain until Gai got to his middle finger, his entire arm flinching as soon as it was moved. Gai-sensei ran his thumb across Lee's central knuckle as Lee gasped in pain.

"You've injured your knuckle again, Lee... One of your artificial ones at that..." Gai said solemnly, returning Lee's hand to him.

"I-I'm sorry... Gai-sensei...," the student refused to meet his teacher in the eye.

"It's nothing to apologize over," Gai-sensei reassured, placing a hand atop Lee's head. "Accidents and injuries happen. But I must warn you to be more careful while training-"

"But, Gai-sensei, I have to train as much as possible! Was it not you who called me a genius of hard work? I have to live up to that title by putting all my effort into getting stronger!" Lee's sudden outburst caused Gai to draw back for a moment.

"Yes, but it is not up to us at which point we hit self-destruction... I must admit... I worry about you often..." Gai sat resting his crossed arms on his knees, burying his chin in the fold of his forearms, gazing ahead of him with a serene yet troubled look in his eyes. It was a side of his sensei that Lee rarely saw.

"Gai...-sensei..."

"Lee, I want you to promise me something. I want you to swear to me that you will not grieve your body during training to the point of your death." Gai's stare was now fixed on nothing but the eyes of his most precious student.

For a moment, Lee was taken aback by his sensei's words and the fierce look he held in his eyes. After a brief silence, he smiled warmly and nodded to his teacher, "I swear to you, Gai-sensei, I will not let training be the one to take my life!"

The jounin returned his student's affectionate look. "Let's go have a medical ninja look at your hand."

**//END FLASHBACK//**

_Despite the physical numbness, it seems that there's a pain that I can still feel. My core feels hollow and I can feel the tears burn in my eyes. I... I've betrayed Gai-sensei... in that moment, did I really deceive him? I don't want to think like that, but I can't help it. That night... I pledged to Gai-sensei that I would not **do** this to myself... and yet hear I am... lying on the grass, surrounded in my own blood and sweat, totally alone... I feel so weak. If I could describe any physical sensation right now... it would be cold. My body feels freezing to me, but I can't tell if it's all in my head... Here I am, thinking things I don't want to again... but I can't help but wonder... curse it, **am I going to die here?**_

_I'm trying to open my eyes, I swear I am, but I just can't seem to do it. The only thing my eyes seem to be doing is unleashing a torrent of tears from behind closed lids. Sleep feels like a very good option, but there's that nagging voice at the back of my brain asking me if what I feel like fading into is truly sleep. Gai-sensei... I'm so sorry... I fear I truly may have lied to you then...I never wanted... to consider myself a liar..._

_I... feel something strange... I think there is some kind of noise around me... I'm not sure... I think I can feel something around me... What is it?... I can't... focus on it..._

_Heh... It's getting a lot harder... to think... now..._

Sounds, all rushing in too fast to comprehend, bombarded his now waking mind. Oxygen mask fitted over his face, bandages adorning his body in various places from head to toe, lying in a Konoha hospital bed, Lee slowly opened his eyes. For a moment, he eyed the ceiling, taking in his surroundings, only after that did he turn his head and froze. Head resting against his propped up hand, asleep in his chair, sat Maito Gai. In his slumber, his brow was furrowed, and his chuunin vest which he was almost never seen without was covered in what looked to be dried blood, which one would not have been mad to assume was Lee's. Gai stirred just as Lee could not hold back the tears for any longer.

Gai's eyes snapped open as he awoke, the ninja had not meant to doze off, but he soon forgot that once the sight before him met his eyes.

"...G-Gai-sensei..." Lee managed to choke out between sobs.

Gai let out a sigh of relief, clutching his chest. "...Lee, how are you feeling?" He tried his best to smile.

"I-I'm so sorry, I just-"

"It's alright, Lee... you don't have to explain or apologize for anything... I'm the one that found you. You were in pretty bad shape... What did I say about being careful?"

So the blood _was_ his. "B-But... I promised you... that this wouldn't happen... I lied to you..."

Gai looked at the young genin with a puzzled expression, running the boy's words through his mind. It took some time for him to recall the night and the promise that was made, but sure enough, realization dawned. "Lee... you didn't lie to me," the jounin smiled. " You're talking to me now, aren't you? Thus, you must still be alive. Just, please, try not to tempt fate next time I'm away."

Lee starred in awe of his sensei, as he often caught himself doing. Despite his smile, Lee definitely recognized the moisture gathering around the corners of his teachers eyes. Lee smiled and nodded in return. Lee knew he shouldn't be training for for a while, but anyone who believed that was going to stop him should have their head examined. If he ever lost Gai-sensei, Lee didn't know what he'd do, but for now, he was just happy to be in the presence of the only one who seems to care.

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Aw! I love Lee! He's so cute! And yet so sad... PLEASE REVIEW MY CRUDDY WRITING!!! And holy crap, I'm EMO!!! God! Can I write anything NON-depressing?!!? Apparently not...

To explain that comment from Gai-sensei. It is my theory that due to all the self-damage Lee inflicts upon himself during training, that his hands(especially his knuckles)would begin to literally deteriorate. That's when the thought hit me that Rock Lee has probably had to have at least some(if not all) of his knuckles be surgically replaced with prosthetic metal ones(plastic breaks too much so doctors don't use it on martial artists like they do for regular people). He would not be the first.


End file.
